BETHLEHEM, Pa. — On a November afternoon at Rocco Calvo Field, the sun was just starting to go down for the day — and on the year for the Moravian University marching band.
Students, between final papers and exams, dressed in layers of warm clothing and gloves as they warmed up with a series of stretches.
It was not a regular band practice.
It was a form of auditions, to give members of the band a chance to demonstrate why they should be next year's leader of their section, or chosen for another position such as social media chair or librarian, which involves handing out sheet music.
The way the process works: Each of the 10 students running for a leadership position gets a few minutes to conduct a sample drill, instructing the band in what's called a "box," essentially a four-cornered marching routine.
The auditioning student gets a headset microphone hooked up to a portable speaker, a clipboard with diagrams on it and basically leads the full marching band for about five minutes through the drill, as a teacher would.
"So we're sort of looking for how clear they are with their instructions," said JoAnn Wieszczyk, staff instructor for the band with Chris DeRemer, who serves in a part-time capacity as the drumline instructor.
"The goal with this teaching is to see how clear they are, how well they're able to break down the details of things that we do every rehearsal, into like manageable chunks," Wieszczyk said.
"So some of them are education majors, but some of them aren't. So for some of them, it's easy. And for others, they really have to think through the details of everything that they do daily" at band practice.
More than a resume-builder: 'Family'
For those studying music education at Moravian, a leadership position in the band often serves a resume-building purpose, but that's not always the goal.
One music student, junior Nicole Bellesfield, who ran for drum major and a few other positions in the band, said the career experience is not the main draw — but "a perk."
"I'm very dedicated to this ensemble," said Bellesfield, who's originally from Stroudsburg. "So [resume-building] is not like the first thing I think of — it's not like 'Oh it's a resume builder.' I'm just thinking, 'This is my family.'"
'Star-Spangled Banner' or Led Zeppelin?
After the spree of 10 auditions, band members, appearing to be fully warmed-up and ready for a change of scenery, were instructed to pick up their instruments.
The horns, laid on the benches and running track, were starting to freeze up as the temperature fell and the sun had almost set.
They were going to practice a song for good measure — a choice between the national anthem and "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin.
The decision was discussed in an almost clinical way, as if they had performed the songs so many times that nobody saw the humor of the only two choices being a traditional anthem and a song from a heavy-drinking, hard rock band from the 1970s.
The 10 bandmates who auditioned all talked and joked around with their peers, regardless of whom they were "running against" in the race — setting a noncompetitive tone that might seem out of place.
Band members, after pacing to keep their legs warm, stood perfectly still as the conductor counted-in for them to play a heartful, classic rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner."
In the back rows were the percussionists. snare drummers, bass drummers, crash cymbal-smashers — who can sometimes be seen as the hooligans of the group.
In this band, they were a smiley group of guys who appeared to have a fondness for lighthearted joking. At this practice, none had drums — instead focused on practicing the "marching" aspect of marching band.
During the middle of the song, some of the students air-drummed, periodically smirking and looking at each other as if to see if there was any opportunity for humor.
When no clear jokes presented themselves, the drummers one-by-one decided to make cartoonish drum sounds with their mouths, air drumming while making different clicking, rolling and roaring bass drum sounds, increasingly getting louder and sounding more ridiculous.
When a student closer to the front looked back with a smile, they burst out laughing, then returned to a serious tone — making it clear they took the day's events seriously.
'I'm very open about it'
Another student who said she cares deeply about the band is sophomore Julianna Thompson.
Leading her audition drill, Thompson had a noticeably peppy spirit.
She explained why she wanted the part: "I think it would be really great, and it's also me stepping out of my comfort zone, as well as being able to support more of my peers as well as having just some more music experience for the future."
Jewelry worn by Thompson shared clues about her life, on and off the marching band field: a metallic medical instruction tag on a necklace she wears next to a heart-shaped bass and treble-clef, — symbols of her love for music.
"Some situations can be really tough to get through, like the vertigo is very sporadic, but I have a really great support system, between my medical team, my family, my friends, as well as my band peers. So no matter what I'm going through, there's always people there to kind of support me with it."Julianna Thompson, Moravian student-musician
When asked whether she was comfortable speaking about the medical issue, she appeared surprised that anyone would even ask.
"Oh, no, it's totally cool. I'm very open about it," she said." So I'm hearing-impaired on my right side as well as I have Maniere's disease, which is a vertigo condition."
Thompson, who's originally from Neptune, New Jersey, said she has an entire system in place for navigating the hearing-related aspects of being in a marching band, thanks to her friends and bandmates.
"Some situations can be really tough to get through, like the vertigo is very sporadic," she said. "But I have a really great support system, between my medical team, my family, my friends, as well as my band peers.
"So no matter what I'm going through, there's always people there to kind of support me with it."
The system runs beyond the mental and physical challenges that come with the condition, and even takes care of logistics in real-time.
"It definitely provides some difficulties as my specific hearing loss is with low tones," Thompson said.
"So sometimes, yeah, so I struggle hearing low tones sometimes as well as like with distance. So I can give you an example: looking at the field sometimes, Dr. Wieszczyk would be giving me directions at the sideline, and I might be all the way back, nowhere near there. So I'll be like, 'Hey, Bri, what did she say?' and they'll repeat it back to me."
Thompson also has some sophisticated technology to help out. In her ear was a Bluetooth-connected hearing aid that tap into her smartphone's microphone for whatever sounds she wants to boost.
"So I'll actually keep my phone near the speaker and broadcast it right to me," she said.
Despite what some might describe as doing marching band on hard-mode, Thompson said she would be thrilled for whomever got the roles for which they auditioned — even if it meant she didn't.
"Good luck to everyone, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed," she said.
